Kerry Ellis Shares Her Passion for Book Cover Design

[special]This post was previously published on the 99designs blog [/special]

It’s not every day we tell you to judge a book by its cover, but in the case of Kerry Ellis (aka Llywellyn) we encourage you to.

Kerry has been a prolific book cover designer on 99designs for more than six years. While she may be modest, her portfolio is vast with inspired covers ranging in style from Saul Bass to Celtic classicism.

We recently chatted with Kerry to learn more about what makes her tick creatively, where she finds inspiration for each cover and who she’s reading right now.

Name: Kerry Ellis
99designs handle: Llywellyn
Location: United States
Specialty: Book covers

Tell us a little about yourself.

My childhood was spent moving around the States until high school, which gave me a nomadic travel bug at a young age. That led to a study-abroad program in Ireland during my university days, which connected me to a professor who unknowingly set me on my path to become an editor by hiring me for the Writing Center when we got back to campus. I’ve spent more than a decade in various publishing fields as an editor, and I love it.

You’ve been a member of 99designs for a long time (six years!). Can you talk a little about your experience?

Gosh, has it really been that long? I started like most folks with a passing knowledge of Illustrator: thinking I could easily make some extra money by creating logos. I mean, how hard could a logo be, right?

I was horrible at it. Probably better than some, but my first contests on 99designs showed me how much learning I had to do. So there was a long hiatus where I wasn’t very active at all.

After more hands-on experience with layout design at NASA, I returned to the 99designs platform and discovered the book cover category. As an avid reader and full-time editor, I was smitten with this category. That’s when I really found my niche and started to make good progress on the platform.

What do you enjoy most about freelancing?

The freedom to choose what I’d like to work on. Since I have a full-time day job, I have incredible freedom in selecting what I’d like to work on during my evenings and weekends. Since it’s work on top of a day of working, it has to be work I’m really going to love doing. Freelancing allows me to do that.

You’re clearly a bibliophile. What do you love most about designing book covers?

The stories! There’s such an endless supply of stories, and I love discovering new worlds and characters through them, then trying to bring them to life.

What do you think is the greatest challenge when a designing book cover?

Condensing what took the author several hundred pages to tell into a single image. This is even more challenging when you don’t have the entire manuscript to read. Given only a short brief, you have to rely on the author to identify what’s truly most important about their work.

Often, they’ve spent so long in the company of their own words, they can lose sight of some of the subtle themes and imagery a designer with fresh eyes might pick up on and run with. Doing all that writing justice is so challenging and incredibly rewarding when you get it right.

Your style changes for each cover you work on. How do you decide on each specific “look”?

Does it? Funny, because I feel like I’m always doing the same thing: minimalism and grids!

Sometimes the author has a specific style in mind, which will set me down one path of image mining. Other times, a particular word or phrase will create a picture in my mind, and I set about looking for stock photos or old paintings that fit that image but also spark a gut reaction when viewed. Whatever I find that creates that spark ends up driving the style for that cover.

Of course, I do this all with the genre in mind. Each genre has its own look and feel, but I don’t always like to play by those rules (which is probably why I do so poorly in some genres). For example, if a book is a hard-hitting thriller/mystery, I’m not likely to use a frilly script font on the cover.

However, I also don’t want to use the cliché dark-blue-tones-with-big-serif-font style if I can avoid it (I can’t always avoid it, but I’ll start in left field until the author kicks me out of it!).

Has there been an author you loved working with? Or a certain project you’re especially proud of?

Quite a few! But I’ll keep it to a couple of big personal milestones.

The first was a contest for a trilogy. The books were mystery with Celtic mythology as a theme throughout. If you couldn’t tell from my incredibly Welsh username, a quick look at my bookshelves would tell you just how obsessed I am with mythology and all things Celtic. So that contest was personally thrilling for me.

Even if I lost, I had to try because the subject matter was so near and dear to my heart. It ended up being the first big cover prize I won! I was absolutely elated and kept stalking the books’ publication because I honestly wanted to read them. (The first book is finally out!)

The next was the contest that gave me enough courage to ask for Platinum promotion: The Gondola Maker. That was an intimidating contest—tons of great talent and entries. I personally love reading historical fiction, which is what first drew me to it, but I had also recently been to Venice and had tons of photos from there (what I feel is my best photographic work to date).

I noticed that none of the entries actually had a gondola maker represented. Now, a lot of times going for the obvious thing is also the dumbest thing for book covers, but I still wanted to give the author something different than pages of gondolas and no makers.

That composite ended up being the largest I’ve cobbled together to date (that’s won): the hands and wood file from one photo, the apron from another, the rolled sleeves from yet another, and the gondola itself from one of my own photos. Then the wax seal, the winged lion, the prow fork—all of which I turned to public domain images for because the required stock purchases were starting to add up.

It turned out better than I could have imagined. The author loved it. And she sent me a few copies, all of which I gave to friends and family except one—my own keepsake. That’s the cover that made me think I was actually good at this and should keep going.

Where do you typically draw your inspiration from?

Art and photography, which are a big part of my background. I love modern art museums and the old masters with their classic portraiture. Art history was one of those university classes that I never, ever missed, and started me on a path of visiting art museums in every city I visit across the globe.

About 8 years ago I started delving into photography and immediately fell in love with the likes of Alfred Stieglitz and George Hurrell (probably didn’t hurt that I’m a classic movie buff). Old tintypes and cyanotypes give me butterflies.

And vintage posters. Alphonse Mucha was the first to draw me into that world, and I simply adore it.

Those are my go-tos when I’m in a rut and need reminding how much great art is out there waiting to be rediscovered and repurposed and introduced to a whole new audience.

What are you reading right now? Do you have an all-time favorite book?

I’m in the middle of several books at the moment: The Long Mars, Station Eleven, The Brothers Karamazov, Remembrance of Things Past (which I swear I will someday finish…). I also just bought 6 Thomas Hardy books because I somehow missed reading him entirely during all my years studying literature.

All-time favorite book is tougher. I have many, and each for different reasons. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, because it was my introduction to fantasy fiction courtesy of my father (he gave me his leather-bound copy of The Hobbit, and after I finished it, he surprised me by buying the trilogy for me that week).

Grania, by Morgan Llywelyn, because she blended my loves of Celtic mythology and historical fiction into a powerful woman who I would never had known existed otherwise. So enamored was I that I wrote to Morgan Llywelyn when I went to study abroad in Ireland to ask if I could meet her. To my surprise, she replied and agreed. Unfortunately, her schedule didn’t end up allowing it, but I called her from Dublin right after seeing the real Tara Brooch and had the most wonderful conversation with her.

And The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett. Because it introduced me to his writing and the Discworld. A journey I’m so sad has ended but I’m forever grateful to have experienced and read.

See more of Kerry Ellis’s work in her portfolio here.

Continue reading %Kerry Ellis Shares Her Passion for Book Cover Design%

by Kelsey Bryant via SitePoint

How to Import Data and Export Results in R

With the craze for "big" data, analytics tools have gained popularity. One of these tools is the programming language R.

In this post, I'll show how to extract data from text files, CSV files, and databases. Then I'll show how to send that data to a web server.

You may be wondering, Do I need to learn a new language all over again? The answer is no! All you need to know is a few commands.

Programmers from diverse backgrounds who work on web applications in a variety of programming languages can import the data into R and, after processing, export it in the format they require.

Note: If you're not familiar with R, I recommend SitePoint's article on how to install R and RStudio. It provides basic commands in R and a general introduction to the language. This post covers commands that can be run on the R terminal without the use of the RStudio IDE. However, handling large datasets on a terminal could turn out to be difficult for beginners, so I'd suggest using RStudio for an enriched experience. In RStudio, you can run the same commands in the Console box.

Handling Text Files

A text file present on your local machine can be read using a slightly modified read.table command. Because it's designed for reading tables, you can set the separator to an empty string ("") to read a text file line by line:

file_contents = read.table("<path_to_file>", sep = "")

Note: where you see angled brackets such as in <path_to_file>, insert the necessary number, identifier, etc. without the brackets.

The path to the file may also be the relative path to the file. If your rows have unequal length, you have to set fill = TRUE as well. The output of this command is a data frame in R.

If your file is too large to be read in one go, you can try reading it in steps using the skip and nrow options. For instance, to read the lines 6–10 in your file, run the following commands:

connection <- file("<path_to_file>")
lines6_10 = read.table(connection, skip=5, nrow=5) # 6-10 lines

Continue reading %How to Import Data and Export Results in R%

by Shaumik Daityari via SitePoint

A Beginner’s Guide to JavaScript Variables and Datatypes

So you've decided to learn JavaScript, the programming language of the web. If it seems like a daunting journey ahead and you don't know where to start, here's a little secret: it doesn't take any special skill to learn how to program, and everyone starts at zero. Take it one step at a time, and you'll get there.

Is This Guide For Me?

If any of these apply to you, you'll benefit from reading this guide:

• You've never used a programming language before.
• You've never used JavaScript before.
• You've tried learning JavaScript before but found the resources lacking or hard to follow.
• You know a bit of JavaScript, but want to brush up on the basics.

In this article, we're going to focus on the fundamentals: syntax, variables, comments, and datatypes. The beauty is that you can apply the concepts you learn about JavaScript here to learning another programming language in the future.

Disclaimer: This guide is intended for complete beginners to JavaScript and programming. As such, many concepts will be presented in a simplified manner, and strict ES5 syntax will be used.

Ready? Let's get started!

What is JavaScript?

JavaScript is the programming language used to make websites dynamic and interactive. It's a client-side programming language, which means the code gets executed in the user's web browser. With the advent of Node.js and other technologies, it can also be used as a server-side language, making it extremely versatile. JavaScript is used primarily for front-end web development and works closely with HTML and CSS.

Note: Java is not JavaScript. It's a different language with a confusingly similar name.

Requirements

You already have the prerequisites to start writing and using JavaScript. All you need is a web browser to view the code, and a text editor to write it. The browser you're currently using is perfect (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, etc). Your computer comes preinstalled with Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac), but I would recommend installing Atom or Brackets, which are free programs specifically designed for coding.

CodePen is a website that allows you to write code and make live demos, and it will be the easiest way to start following along and practicing.

Basic Terminology

A programmer writes programs, just as an author writes a book.

A program is just a set of instructions that a computer can read and use to perform a task. Each individual instruction is a line of code known as a statement, which is similar to a sentence in a book. While a sentence in English ends with a period, a JavaScript statement usually ends with a semicolon. Syntax refers to the symbols and rules that define the structure of the language, similar to grammar and punctuation, and the semicolon that ends a JavaScript statement is part of the syntax.

A comment is a human-readable note written in the code.

Comments are written in plain English with the purpose of explaining the code. Although comments don't technically perform any function in the program, it's crucial to get into the habit of proper documentation to help you or future collaborators understand the intent of your code.

There are two types of comment in JavaScript:

• A single line comment, written as two forward slashes // followed by the comment.

// This is a single line comment.

• A multi-line comment, which is sandwiched between /* and */ and can span many lines.

/* This is a comment.
It's a multi-line comment.
Also a haiku. */

Variables

A variable is a container that stores data values.

You know a variable as something that can change. In basic algebra, it's a letter that represents a number. x is a common variable name, but it can just as easily be represented by y, z, or another name.

Initially x has no value or meaning, but you can apply a value to it.

x = 5

Now, x represents 5. You can think of x as a container that's storing 5, which is a number.

In JavaScript, variables work the same, except they can contain more than just numbers as a value - they can contain all sorts of data values, which we'll learn by the end of this article.

Variables are created and declared using the var keyword. We can use our algebra example above to create a JavaScript statement.

var x = 5; // the variable x contains the numeric value of 5.

Building on what we've learned so far, you can see that we have a JavaScript statement that declares a variable (x), assigns the number data type (5) with a single equals sign (=), and explains it in plain English with a comment (//). The statement ends with a semi-colon (;).

Variables only need to be declared with var the first time they're used, and as the name suggests, a variable can change.

Continue reading %A Beginner’s Guide to JavaScript Variables and Datatypes%

by Tania Rascia via SitePoint

enquire.js – Awesome Media Queries in JavaScript

enquire.js is a lightweight, pure javascript library for programmatically responding to media queries.

by via jQuery-Plugins.net RSS Feed

20+ Docs and Guides for Front-end Developers (No. 11)

It’s that time again to get learning! As before, I’ve collected a number of different learning resources, including guides, docs, and other useful websites to help you get up to speed in different areas of front-end development.

So please enjoy the eleventh installment of our Docs and Guides series and don’t forget to let me know in the comments of any others that I haven’t yet included.

1. HTML Canvas Cheatsheet

An HTML Canvas syntax cheatsheet, available in regular web format or as a downloadable PDF or PNG. This cheatsheet has a good overview starting with the basics (shapes, text, colors, etc.) and moving on to more advanced features (images, transformations, animations).

2. ARIA Landmarks Example

An extensive W3C guide providing details for authoring accessible pages using ARIA Landmarks and headings. In addition to the info in the various pages (which cover everything from banner roles regions), the pages have interactive buttons at the top of the page that allow you to view the landmarks and headings visually, which is useful for identifying the organization and structure of a web page.

3. Clean Code JavaScript

Developer Ryan McDermott has put together a comprehensive repository of software engineering principles, from Robert C. Martin’s book Clean Code, adapted for JavaScript. It’s a guide to producing readable, reusable, and refactorable software in JavaScript.

4. Know it all

Not so much a guide in itself, but a tool to help you decide which guides, tutorials, etc., to look for. It’s basically a web app in the style of a to-do list that lets you indicate which web platform and Node.js technologies you know or don’t know. The list starts off very broadly and lets you drill down to more specific features under each category.

5. Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming

It seems like every week there’s a new resource on functional programming, but this one looks like a good option for experienced programmers and those not yet familiar with functional programming concepts. Written for JavaScript developers, this seems to be a work in progress. The first nine chapters are done and I think that’s plenty to for anyone just getting started with this subject.

6. Fetch Living Standard on WHATWG

In case you haven’t noticed, the Fetch standard, which is a modern replacement for XMLHttpRequest, now has pretty strong browser support. If you’re looking into making the transition from older techniques to this new API, the official spec might be a decent place to start.

7. JavaScript Stack from Scratch

This “minimalistic and straight-to-the-point guide to assembling a JavaScript stack” by Jonathan Verrecchia might help developers overcome the complexities of the current JavaScript ecosystem. The guide does not go into details about the individual technologies, but only demonstrates how you can get these up and running.

Continue reading %20+ Docs and Guides for Front-end Developers (No. 11)%

by Louis Lazaris via SitePoint

Understanding iOS Proactive Suggestions

With the introduction of the “Proactive” feature in iOS 9, Apple is trying to proactively assist you. The system learns from your actions and attempts to anticipate them. It starts showing suggestions, recommendations, apps you frequently use, etc.

The Handoff feature hasn’t changed but the space usually reserved for it in the lock screen is used for suggested apps. Apps shown in the bottom-left corner of the lock screen and in the app switcher are based on your location or habits. The following screenshots show quick access to the Music app when I plug in my headphones.

iOS has noticed that when I plug in my headphones, I immediately go to the Music app, so it now gives me quicker access to it. The same will happen for an app that uses location. It will appear when you are near your favorite restaurant, for instance.

Spotlight search can be reached from the home menu; by swiping down or by swiping all the way left. The first thing to notice are the Siri suggestions below the search bar. By default, you’ll see the 4 apps you are likely to use at that given time (of the day or night), but it can be expanded up to 8 apps. It also depends on your location, or on whether your headphones are plugged in. So Siri suggests apps depending on your previous behavior or on the time of the day.

In the screenshot below on the left, Siri has suggested messaging apps and a game I currently play. Notice that in the screenshot on the right, the suggestions change as I plugged in my headphones. Just as in the previous example, the system is trying to help access the Music app quicker.

Continue reading %Understanding iOS Proactive Suggestions%

by Deivi Taka via SitePoint

The Cupping Room

Beautiful One Page website for 'The Cupping Room' located in Canberra, Australia. The Single Page site features a gorgeous (horizontal) parallax scrolling effect with quality food imagery (pulled from Instagram) in the foreground and shapes in the back. The site was built by ED. who are no strangers to our "Most Loved" award category. Awesome to see this built on WordPress too.

by Rob Hope via One Page Love